Bitcoin prices hit all-time highs as early election results favor Trump

On By Littum

Upper line

Bitcoin hit a record high on election night, rising to nearly $74,000 as election results emerged, as betting markets and other indicators suggest Donald Trump has an edge over Kamala Harris — though the race remains too close to call.

Key facts

Bitcoin jumped more than 8% on Tuesday to $74,659 around 10:08 PM EST before briefly dipping below $74,000.

The increase comes as more states close polls and coincides with increasingly favorable odds for Trump to win the election on platforms such as Polymarket, Kalshi and PredictIt.

Bitcoin has surged in the run-up to Election Day, topping $73,000 last week — a seven-month high for the cryptocurrency.

Trump, who has billed himself as the “crypto president” and promised to be more crypto-friendly than Harris or President Joe Biden, also saw a big boost for his media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, which is up more than 10% in after-hours trading at $37.48 after closing Tuesday at $33.94.

Shares of Tesla, the electric car maker led by billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk, rose nearly 3% in after-hours trading to $258.70 after closing at $251.44 earlier Tuesday.

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Forbes valuation

We estimate Trump’s net worth at $6 billion.

Key background

Trump increasingly aligned himself with cryptocurrency as his campaign continued this year, accepting crypto donations in May and launching his own crypto platform last month. He’s also sold NFT trading cards that sold out and generated millions of dollars, though it’s unclear how much of a cut Trump got. This summer, during a major cryptocurrency convention, the former president said he wanted the United States to become the “crypto capital of the planet,” a marked departure from his position on cryptocurrency years ago, when he weakened their value as “very volatile and based on thin air.” Trump also told Fox News in 2021 that bitcoin seemed like a scam and criticized the cryptocurrency for competing against the dollar.

Further reading

Election Betting Odds: Trump Approaches 90% On Major Platforms As More Election Results Come In (Forbes)

Trump Used To Think Crypto Was A ‘Scam’ – Now He’s Launching His Own Crypto Platform Run By His Sons (Forbes)